IBM has poured more capabilities into its bulging analytics portfolio with the definitive agreement to acquire US-based information and optimisation company Vivisimo for an undisclosed sum.
Vivisimo’s software operates in what you might describe as the big data analytics space, providing tools for federated discovery and navigation across the enterprise. It can automatically capture and deliver structured and unstructured information from a range of data sources and locations, and by enabling users to navigate through it from a single view is designed to improve decision-making. The federated discovery aspect is a key feature because it increases the value of existing data, which plays to the ‘more for less’ industry trend, and helps enterprises prepare their big data platforms (you have to find out what data you have before you can start using it).
Discovery technologies are attracting more providers, Oracle and Endeca to name just two, and Hadoop plays a part in this space too. On that note, IBM also announced plans to expand its big data platform (which currently runs on Apache) to other distributions, starting with the other emerging sector leader, Cloudera.
The acquisition and big data platform extension are not major steps in themselves but build on IBM prior investments – and further acquisitions in the analytics and big data space are certain because IBM has not got anywhere near the bottom of its acquisition war chest. Cumulatively, its analytics software purchases are helping IBM reshape the business (see IBM grows profits, gradually becomes a software business) and bring it into high growth and high margins areas.